The family of a Chelmsford teen must pay £6,000 for medical treatment after a quad bike disaster on holiday in Dubai.

Millie Essam, 19, was riding across sand dunes with her mum and sister when she flew over the handlebars before the vehicle landed on top of her.

She was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment where x-rays revealed she had suffered a fractured spine as well as third degree burns.

But despite having purchased insurance for the holiday, Millie's family was forced to pay out £6,000 for her treatment as the circumstances didn't "meet the criteria" to be covered.

'They had no idea how bad it was'

Her medical bill came to around £6,000

Millie had been on holiday in Dubai with her family for three days when the incident occurred (Thursday, July 4).

Jenna Dinnes is Millie's best friend and the two have known each other for eight years. She was back in the UK when she heard the news.

"They went on a quad bike excursion across the sand dunes," Jenna said. "She was in the middle with her sister in front and her mum behind her. There were about 20 on the excursion in total.

"She went up over a sand dune and her front wheel got stuck in the sand. If you stop, the wheel starts to sink because the sand is so soft, and it caused the quad bike to stop suddenly.

"She flew over the handlebars and it landed on top of her."

While the damage caused by the quad bike was severe, the ground she landed on was also very hot.

The quad bike landed on her after she went over the handlebars

"They had to get the quad bike off her and get her up off the sand," Jenna explained. "It's 43 degrees out there and she was lying on the sand.

"It gets really hot and she suffered third degree burns, and the temperature of the engine was also very hot.

"They were thinking 'how do we move her without hurting her back?' They had no idea how bad it was, but they needed to get her off the sand.

"She was taken straight to the nearest hospital where she stayed for about a day before she was transferred to a back specialist. She was kept on a back brace for about three or four days and then the physio started straight away.

"She's 19 and very active, she goes to the gym a lot, so they wanted to see how much she could do."

She thought she was paralysed

An x-ray showed the damage to Millie's spine

X-rays revealed that Millie had suffered considerable damage to her spine, which had fractured as a result of the accident.

The heat of the engine and even the sand had caused burns across her body, and she was left heavily bruised.

Jenna said: "She was thinking 'am I going to be paralysed?' She knew there was an issue with her spine.

"She was put into a wheelchair which was fantastic progress. She's such a chilled out person and she's so positive, there was nothing she could do but she's just got to deal with what's happened and knows she needs to strengthen her body.

"They were out there for a week and it happened on the third or fourth day so they hadn't seen much of Dubai at all. But she's got a positive mentality of needing to get better."

Millie suffered third degree burns as a result of the incident

Millie arrived back in the UK this morning, but the change in circumstances meant the family also had to pay out more money for the flight home.

"Her flight was booked as economy but they had to upgrade her and her mum to first class because she wouldn't have been able to fit in economy with the leg room," Jenna said.

"She can't bend her back and they needed to put the wheelchair in. In first class she could lay down and had space for the equipment she needs."

Millie has been flown into one of the London airports and is being taken to Broomfield Hospital to be checked over.

Crowdfunder set up to support the family

The 19-year-old was on holiday with her family in Dubai

Following the incident, Jenna and Millie's brother set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the family.

Just under £500 has been raised so far against a target of £5,000, but the family is hoping for any donations to help with the medical costs.

"so if family and friends could donate, even if we raised only £100 in total it would be something," Jenna added.

"They had full insurance for the holiday but unfortunately it won't cover her treatment as it's classed as an extreme sporting accident. It doesn't meet the criteria.

"They've had to pay the medical bill already which came to around £6,000. Her mum isn't someone who would ask for charity but it's a lot of money.

"I've been on holiday before where I've been on a speedboat or a jet ski and you don't think of them as extreme sports.

"If you're going to get holiday insurance make sure you tick all the boxes, just in case. It might cost an extra £10 but it could prevent you from spending thousands."